Blogging about what I'm cooking. Not as much deep-fried stuff anymore, but hey, it's a catchy name.

July 2009

This recipe came from one of my favorite food blogs, 101 Cookbooks. The author posts some amazing vegetarian recipes, and I'm often inspired to try to imitate them. This one looked too good to pass up, so I gave it a shot. Definitely a keeper, and very simple to make!

Red Pesto RavioliIngredients:

1 pound fresh cheese raviolis

12 plump, chewy sun-dried tomatoes (about 2 ounces)

2 medium cloves garlic

a couple big pinches of red pepper flakes

1/3 cup extra-virgin olive oil

1 teaspoon fresh thyme

1/8 teaspoon salt

1/4 cup walnuts or pine nuts, lightly toasted

3 handfuls of baby spinach tossed with a glug of olive oil and a big pinch of salt.

2/3 cup oven-roasted cherry tomatoes (optional)*

a bit of crumbled goat cheese

Directions:

Bring a large pot of water to a boil. Salt generously and cook the raviolis per package instructions. Drain, but reserve about one cup of the hot pasta water (important!).

In the meantime, make the sun-dried tomato pesto by pulsing the sun-dried tomatoes, garlic, pepper flakes, olive oil, thyme, and salt in a food processor until it comes together into a textured crumble. Add the walnuts (or pine nuts), and pulse a few more times. Set aside.

Combine 1/2 cup of the reserved pasta water in a large mixing bowl along with two-thirds of the sun-dried tomato pesto. Add the cooked raviolis and gently toss. Add more of the hot pasta water if needed to thin the pesto out - it should make a nice chunky sauce. Taste and add more of the pesto if you like - it's really a matter of personal preference at this point.

Arrange the baby spinach on a large platter and top with everything from the ravioli mixing bowl. Top with the cherry tomatoes and a bit of crumbled goat cheese.

*To oven-roast cherry tomatoes: Heat oven to 350°F. Cut each tomato in half and arrange in a large oven-proof baking dish. Mix together a big splash of olive oil, a spoonful of brown sugar, and a few pinches of salt. Pour this over the tomatoes. Gently toss them a bit, making sure they all get coated. Arrange tomatoes cut-side up. Place in the oven and bake for 45 minutes or so, until the tomatoes are shrunken and sweet.

Notes:I used 4-cheese ravioli and Parmesan instead of goat cheese. The ravioli I found fresh came in a 20-ounce container, but it didn't seem to be a problem with the amount of pesto that the recipe made.

I've made this twice now. The second time, I used walnuts (I had used pine nuts the first time). Delicious both times. If it wasn't for the time it takes to roast the tomatoes, this would be a 15 minute recipe start-to-finish. The tomatoes are completely worth it though.

I've been craving ribs lately, so I set out to find a good recipe. I was thinking more along the lines of bbq ribs, but this recipe from Gourmet's February 2009 issue sounded too good to pass up. I'm not a big fan of black beans, so I asked Sarah to make mashed potatoes instead.

Pat ribs dry and season with 1 1/2 tsp salt and 1 tsp pepper (total). Heat oil in a wide 6- to 8-qt heavy pot over medium-high heat until it shimmers. Brown ribs in batches, about 6 minutes per batch. Transfer as browned to a platter. Discard fat from pot.

Preheat oven to 350°F with rack in middle.

Cook bacon in pot over medium heat until browned, then transfer with a slotted spoon to platter.

Notes:The only molasses I had was blackstrap, so I used half molasses and half honey. I added a little bit of salt after skimming the fat from the sauce. These ribs were delicious (and so were Sarah's potatoes)!

My friend Linda told me about this recipe, which also works on the grill, or so I'm told.

Broiled Romaine HeartsIngredients:

1 heart of romaine lettuce

Olive oil

Seasonings (garlic powder, pepper, etc.)

Parmesan cheese

Directions:

Take a heart of romaine and slice it in half.

Drizzle with olive oil.

Season as desired (I used fresh ground pepper and garlic powder).

Sprinkle with Parmesan cheese.

Broil for about four minutes, or until the lettuce starts to char.

Enjoy!

Notes:This was a nice alternative to a salad but equally as healthy.
Now, to be fair, Linda, who is vegetarian, usually eats this as a meal.
But we paired it with ... um, a steak. Also tastes great with balsamic vinegar drizzled on before the cheese.

I realize I haven't posted anything new in a while, but I promise I haven't stopped cooking. I was gone for two weeks in Nevada, and things have been busy enough that I've mainly been cooking stuff that I've already posted rather than trying new things. The healthy tacos are still an almost-weekly dish for us. I've mixed it up a few times by using chicken breasts instead of ground turkey or buffalo, "asian stirfry seasoning" instead of taco seasoning, and hoisin sauce instead of sour cream and cheese. Comes out pretty darn good. I've also made Mongolian beef and Filipino chicken adobo multiple times. I think doubling the adobo chicken recipe really makes it better. You end up with a much better ratio of liquid to solid for some reason. Sarah made a surprisngly tasty broiled lettuce a few days ago, we'll get that posted shortly. And never fear, I do plan on cooking some new things soon!